1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable information system wherein a portable information terminal that has a wireless communication capacity is connected to a communication network (referred to simply as the xe2x80x9cInternetxe2x80x9d hereinbelow), such as the Internet, via a provider, and obtains information about stores, train stations, etc., in an area that corresponds to information about the current position from an information providing device (for example, a WWW server) connected to the Internet.
This application is based on Patent Application Nos. 11-240619 and 2000-149072 filed in Japan, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a personal information processing device, such as a personal computer (abbreviated xe2x80x9cPCxe2x80x9d hereinbelow), is connected to the Internet, normally, after contracting with a commercial provider that provides a telephone line connection service to the Internet, an arbitrary one among a plurality of access points (telephone numbers for connecting to a circuit) provided by the provider is selected, and by making a telephone connection, a communication line to the Internet is established.
Similarly, in recent years, portable information terminals, such as the personal handyphone systems (PHS), having a wireless communication function, have become commercially available in diverse models. Unlike the PC, use of these portable information terminals is not limited to one place, and thus what is termed mobile computing has become possible. This means that the portable information terminal has a modem with a wireless function for connecting to the Internet, and thus, even outdoors, the Internet can be accessed via one of the provider""s access points, like a PC.
At the same time, in the portable information system using the current position acquisition system represented by the conventional car navigation system, based on information about the current position, the user can inquire about information on the Internet through a provider, and can obtain necessary information about facilities that include at least stores and public facilities. That is, there is necessary information (for example, information about a particular store), and the user acts as an agent to obtain this information from the Internet using a pull-type method. That is, in this portable information system, using the GPS (Global Positioning System), after the user knows an arbitrary point (the current position), the information about that area is obtained from the Internet.
Using the above-described portable information system, when the user wants to obtain information, for example, the current position from the GPS, and then tries to get information about a store in the vicinity from a home page on the Internet based on this position information, he connects to the store""s home page using a URL (Uniform Resource Locater).
However, the conventional portable information terminals described above have the disadvantage that if the user does not know the URL of the home page of the store (the URL is not registered in the portable information device), it is not possible to connect to the necessary home page.
In addition, the conventional portable information terminals described above have the disadvantage that if the user does not know the URL of the home page of the store (the URL is not registered in the portable information device), this URL must be searched for on the Internet, and such a search may be vary laborious, so the necessary information cannot immediately be obtained from the home page.
Furthermore, in a search method based on the above-described position information, if a user does not know beforehand what type of stores there are in the area through which the user is traveling, a search for information about a store providing merchandise that the user wishes to purchase cannot be carried out on the Internet, and timely information acquisition cannot be carried out.
In addition, the conventional portable information system has the problem that only simple fixed information (the type of facility, the name of the facility, the address of the facility, the telephone number of the facility, the operating hours of the facility, a map showing the facility) can be registered in the device that is accessed and provides information.
That is, this fixed information is simply an extension of area information, such as the type of facility at a given location, and is not frequently updated.
Thus, the conventional portable information system has the disadvantage that after the user has once obtained information about a facility by accessing a device that provides information, there is no need to know identical information about a facility by repeated access, and there is no value in repeated access.
Therefore, the conventional portable information system is simply an electronic map system that renders maps electronically convenient, focusing on arriving at the location one is going to for the first time without getting lost.
In consideration of the above-described background, it is an object of the present invention to provide a portable information system that allows a user to obtain from a home page on the Internet necessary information about stores that is updated periodically without the user having to know the URL of the home page or having to know in advance what kind of stores are located in the vicinity.
The present invention is a portable information system that is connected to a communication network from a portable information terminal and obtains specified information from an information providing device connected to this communication network, characterized in providing a position information acquiring means by which the portable information terminal acquires information about its own position, and a communication means that establishes a communication line between the portable information terminal and the communication network via an access point, and carries out transmission and reception of the position information and the specified information, and wherein a communication network connection part is provided that searches for the information about the corresponding area from the information providing device based on the position represented by the position information received from the portable information device, and transmits the information about the corresponding area that was found to this portable information terminal.
In addition, the present invention provides a portable information system in which a user connects to a line at a server located at a provider with a portable information terminal and obtains information from the home page of a facility that has an advertising contract with the provider, and wherein each facility bears the cost of the communication charges for the portable information terminal connected to the server, and in exchange for bearing the communication charges, the provider supplies statistical information and personal information about the users who access the home page to the facility operating the home page.
By being structured in the above-described manner, the portable information system according to the present invention uses current position information obtained, for example, from the GPS, and the provider""s server transmits information about stores and types of facilities (stations, city offices, health offices, tax offices, etc.), for example, that are provided in advance on the Internet via a telephone line or wireless connection to a user who is passing through the area of the stores and facilities, etc., that are present in the vicinity of the current location.
That is, in the portable information system according to the present invention, the user""s position coming physically within a specified distance to the position of the information originator (the store or facility) serves as a trigger that prompts the transmission of information to the portable information terminal of the user. For example, in the portable information system according to the present invention, by using the GPS, when the distance between two arbitrary points (the position of the user and the position of the information originator) is within a specified range, transmission and reception of information is established.
Therefore, the portable information system according to the present invention is a method of using push-type Internet information access that transmits information on the Internet from a provider prompted by the user passing in vicinity of the store. Here, push-type means that by inputting a trigger signal (for example, guidance control information and current position information from the user), the Internet provider searches for information on the Internet on an information providing device, and transmits it to the portable information terminal of the user, even when there has been no request for the information from the user.
In addition, the portable information system of the present invention can provide an environment for notifying a user via a portable information terminal about information that facilities wish to provide in real time by using the home pages that are produced by the stores and facilities, etc., that are registered in the information providing device.
At the same time, the user can automatically gather information about a facility within a range (a certain distance) centered on himself, and in addition to fixed information displayed conventionally, high-value timely information such as that found in fliers handed out on the street or advertisements folded into newspapers that are delivered can be obtained.
In this manner, according to the portable information system of the present invention, compared to the conventional examples of fixed information for each facility, a communication means is provided that makes possible the exchange of fresh and concise information between the user and the facility.
Furthermore, the portable information system of the present invention is an attempt to provide an area-specific character to the information on the Internet, is a form for use of the Internet between the user and the facility that provides the home page based on this area-specific character (the position at which the user is moving in the region where a facility is present), and opens up new possibilities for the Internet, in contrast to portable information terminals that search for fixed conventional information.
In addition, because the present invention automatically transmits to the portable information terminal information (information about stores and stations within a specified search area) of an area from an information provider facility based on position information even if the user does not know the URL of the home page of the store by using a portable information system that combines the communication network (Internet, etc.) and a position information acquiring means, an information providing service that exhibits a strong area-specific character can be constructed, and since information about stores, train stations, theaters, etc., can be obtained within a specified range centered on the current position, area-specific, concise, and quick (real time) communication between the registered store and user is possible even if the user does not know about the stores, etc., in the region.